Kind nurse Muriel retires after 10 years at Broadmoor

‘We will miss her’ say Broadmoor colleagues of Muriel Zondo who is retiring

Staff and patients at Broadmoor Hospital have bid farewell to a popular and long-serving nurse.

Muriel Zondo, described as ‘warm and kind natured’, retired earlier this month after 10 years of work at the Crowthorne high-security hospital.

She was recruited from South Africa and will now return to her home of Newcastle in the Kwa-Zulu Natal province of the country to spend her retirement with her children and grandchildren.

Ms Zondo said: “Living and working in the United Kingdom, seeing other countries, experiencing different cultures and gaining new skills in the management and treatment of psychiatric patients has been a dream come true for me.

“I’ve enjoyed working with a skilled and diverse range of colleagues and feel I’ve contributed to the holistic care of patients during my time as a nurse at Broadmoor Hospital.

“I recall one patient who adamantly wouldn’t participate in any form of therapy session or one-to-one counselling but I wouldn’t give up on him.

“I worked with him at his pace and respected his boundaries.

“Now he’s a different person and is looking forward to being transferred out of the hospital into a medium-secure unit.

“It’s been a challenging yet very rewarding experience.”

A spokesman for West London Mental Health NHS Trust, which runs Broadmoor, said: “Muriel had over 20 years of mental health nursing experience when she started working at Broadmoor Hospital and has used her wealth of knowledge to help her peers as well as her patients.

“We will miss her warmth and her kind nature and we wish her all the very best for her retirement.”